Acoustic monitoring of microplasma formation and filamentation of tightly focused femtosecond laser pulses in silica glass

Contact acoustic technique has been employed to perform spatially resolved in situ detection of microplasma formation and filamentation of tightly focused femtosecond laser pulses with supercritical pulse powers in bulk dielectrics, via corresponding acoustic emission. Investigation of acoustic generation mechanisms related to the plasma formation and filamentation effects reveals the critical character of the opaque microplasma and provides estimates of its gigapascal-level pressures and energy densities of a few kJ cm3. The acoustic measurement enables real-time in situ monitoring and revealing of basic mechanisms of ionization and filamentation in bulk dielectrics.